8.  The applicants are fishermen operating in the coastal region of the Gulf of Bothnia on the basis of leases contracted with the State in 1989 and renewed in 1995 (for a further period ending in 1999) as well as in 2000 (for the period 2000-04).
9.  By virtue of section 116, subsection 3, of the 1982 Fishing Act (kalastuslaki, lag om fiske 286/1982) the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry may restrict fishing, inter alia, if this is deemed necessary in order to safeguard future fish stocks. Since 1986 the Ministry has imposed such restrictions by issuing decrees. The restrictions have varied to some degree as regards their timing, territorial scope, the fish species in question and the prohibited fishing gear. The restrictions may also extend to private waters.
10.  In 1991 Mr Rahko and others challenged the lawfulness of Decree no. 684/1991 (“the 1991 Decree”), whereby fishing with certain gear had been prohibited, inter alia, in waters leased by him. In its judgment of 14 June 1991 the Supreme Administrative Court (korkein hallinto-oikeus, högsta förvaltningsdomstolen) declined to examine the merits of the appeal, considering that it lacked jurisdiction to consider the appellants' demands that the decree be revoked and the implementation thereof stayed.
11.  By Decree no. 231/1994, which entered into force on 1 April 1994 (“the 1994 Decree”), the Ministry prohibited salmon fishing with certain gear during certain periods in the main basin of the Baltic Sea, in the Gulf of Bothnia and in the Simojoki River. The restrictions concerned the fishing of salmon between certain latitudes in the open sea and in coastal waters as well as in certain rivers and their estuaries, and extended to the fishing waters which the applicants were leasing from the State. The decree was later repealed and replaced by Decree no. 258/1996 (“the 1996 Decree”). The date of entry into force of the last-mentioned decree (29 April 1996) was specified by Decree no. 262/1996. In so far as the restriction concerned the applicants, it was maintained on substantially similar terms by Decree no. 266/1998, which entered into force on 16 April 1998 (“the 1998 Decree”).
12.  On 25 November 1994, in response to a petition lodged by the applicants and others, the Parliamentary Ombudsman (eduskunnan oikeusasiamies, riksdagens justitieombudsman) found no indication that the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry had, in restricting the salmon fishing in certain waters, acted contrary to, inter alia, the Supreme Administrative Court's decision of 30 May 1980 (see paragraph 25 below) or otherwise incorrectly.
13.  On 21 March 1995 the applicants and the State extended their respective leases up to the end of 1999. In so far as relevant to the present case, the leases referred back to the terms of the 1989 leases.
14.  In a further decision of 26 May 1995, in response to a petition by others, the Ombudsman considered that, in issuing the 1994 Decree, the Ministry had not exceeded the powers which the Fishing Act had conferred upon it. After hearing submissions from the Ministry he concluded that the restrictions set forth in the decree had been justified in order to safeguard the fish stocks. In so far as the petitioners had complained of discriminatory treatment, the Ombudsman noted that the restrictions had differed from area to area in order to take into account the spawning routes of the salmon. He therefore accepted that there had been sufficient justification for the different timing of the prohibition in the respective water areas and for prohibiting different fishing gear in different areas.
15.  Having reviewed the territorial scope of the restrictions, the Ombudsman considered, however, that the Ministry had not sufficiently taken into account the need for equal treatment of fishermen in different areas. He noted that the decree had been based on a report of the Working Group on salmon fishing in the open sea which the Ministry had appointed in 1993 (avomerilohityöryhmä, havslaxarbetsgruppen 1993:15). The Working Group had found certain fishing restrictions necessary so as to enable the salmon to reach the northernmost rivers and thereby to safeguard the fish stocks. It had been of the further opinion that in order to be non-discriminatory in character the restrictions should apply equally to fishing in the open sea and to coastal fishing (within village boundaries) within the whole of the areas located between certain latitudes. The Ombudsman noted that the terms of the decree had differed from the opinion of the Working Group, without any convincing reasons having been given therefor. The resultant differential treatment, without any generally acceptable grounds, of certain water owners and fishermen who had contracted leases, was therefore in violation of section 5 of the Constitution.
16.  On 19 September 1996 the Lapland District for the Economic Development of the Countryside (maaseutuelinkeinopiiri, landsbygds-näringsdistrikt) granted Mr Posti 20,274 Finnish markkas (FIM) (3,405 euros (EUR)) and Mr Rahko FIM 32,464 (EUR 5,460) in compensation for losses suffered as a result of the fishing prohibition imposed by the 1996 Decree. Their average salmon catch per year during the periods in 1990-94 when a fishing prohibition had been in force was estimated at 2,150 kg and 3,848 kg respectively, at the price of FIM 15.93 per kg. The applicants' average catch of whitefish was estimated at 257 kg and 110 kg respectively, at the price of FIM 12.85 per kg. The overall compensation amounts were reduced by 15% in order to accommodate the awards within the funds foreseen in the State budget. An appeal lay to the Appellate Board for Countryside Commerce but the applicants did not avail themselves of that possibility.
17.  On 2 May 2000 the applicants' respective leases were further prolonged until the end of 2004. The leases stipulated, inter alia, that salmon fishing was allowed within the leased areas “in so far as prescribed in the ... decree on salmon fishing or other provisions”.